Second Martian Revolution
The Second Martian Revolution, also the Second Red Faction Uprising or the Revolution of 2125, was an extended period of hostilities primarily between the members of the Earth Defence Force stationed in the Tharsis region on Mars and the fledgling Red Faction insurgency recently resurrected. The Marauders, a bitter warrior culture descended from displaced Ultor scientists and living amongst the furthest fringes of the Badlands, also engaged heavily in the fighting against both sides - although they did eventually ally with the colonist insurgency in the face of the EDF's trump card, the arrival in Mars-orbit of the E.D.S Hydra. History The Earth Defence Force had arrived on Mars nearing the end of the previous First Martian Revolution in 2075 CE as saviors to the original Red Faction movement, and swept away the last of remanants of the Ultor Corporation which had oppressed them. Over the next 50 years they remained on the red planet, in control via the puppet-government that was the Martian Council based at Hendrix Hall in Eos. 'Early Revolution' If the revolution is considered to have started in the Badlands with the Battle of Mariner Valley or before, then you could fairly say that the Marauders started it. Whether the Marauder-EDF War can be considered part of the Second Martian Revolution or as a contemporaneous conflict depends mostly on your viewpoint. Regardless, the revolution and the revival of the Red Faction both have their roots in that engagement between the Marauders and Earth Defence Force seven years prior to the liberation of the Parker Sector. It was in that battle within Mariner Valley in 2117 CE that Samanya, sister of their leader Vasha, broke away from her embittered people by rescuing the colonist inmates of an EDF prison camp. Among them was Hugo Davies, future leader of the Red Faction, and Dan Mason. Together they would go on to resurrect the Red Faction among the hotbed of repressed miners and colonists in Parker. 'Liberation of Parker' The early campaign in Parker between the EDF and the insurgency was marked by a deadly game of cat-and-mouse between the two. The Red Faction used guerrilla tactics and surpise raids, constantly trying to stay ahead of the Earth Defence Force who in turn used interogations and raids of their own. During the well-planned Armor Labs Sting, the EDF managed to plant an operative within the Red Faction, compromising the organisation. The insurgency was forced to scatter and regroup a month later, abandoning their old safehouse for a new one. Now left with a severe manpower with the death of Tyrell, a member of Mason's demolition crew, and with no-one they could trust - Dan suggested they try to recruit his brother, Alec Mason, who was skilled in the trade and would be arriving from Earth. Unfortunately Dan was killed the day after, spotted by an EDF Flyer and recognised due to the intel the EDF gained from their sting operation. It likely that they were even watching Alec's arrival on Mars in an attempt to bring him out into the open. Now with their best demolition crew dead and unable to replace it thanks to security concerns, the only option was Alec who himself was wanted by the EDF now. Mason was to be labeled a hero of the revolution in the Red Faction state after the end of the war, but he was first tested destroying the old insurgent base of opperations, abandoned after the sting operation at Vetro. He further proved himself by next rescuing Samanya from a trap set by the EDF. Over the remainder of the Battle for Parker, the Red Faction seemed to twart their enemies at every turn. They repelled EDF raids, such as the Raid on the Red Rock Trading Post, and freed hostages. The Ore Processing Plant in the north of the Town of Parker was destroyed. Alec Mason, out for revenge for the death of his brother, proved his worth again and again, quickly becoming Hugo Davies's most relied upon field agent. The EDF were eventually forced out and the sensor field east of Parker was destroyed to allow passage into Dust. The Battle of Dust began. 'Liberation of Dust' The Red Faction quickly set up operations in the Dust sector after the fighting in Parker subsided. Among their first goals was winning the trust of the local miner population. The sector of Dust was the mining capital of Tharsis and key to the Earth Defence Force occupation of Mars. Desperate to retain its hold, and with the Marauders aggressively pushing ever outwards in the Badlands and the insurgency in its rear now pushing into Dust from the other direction, the EDF resorted to panicked action. Attrocities like those routinely commited by Captain Halvar Gunnarsen swayed the miners, particularly when he tried to lure many of them to their deaths at the open-pit mine in western Dust. The EDF forces there fired on all who answered to the call of their false propaganda. The Red Faction intervened, however, and their key operative Alec Mason killed the EDF Captain responsible for the massacre at Chryse. The Red Faction launched many successful raids over the course of the hostilities, including an attack against the Tharsis Point Aerofarm in northern Dust, a raid against the EDF Officer Barracks in the Town of Dust, an attack on the infrastructure surronding the AmRuKuo Mohole and a raid against the ARK Chemical Depot in southern Dust to retrieve a Heavy Walker. They destroyed key targets including the Dust Town Hall. During all this, an incursion into the Badlands was planned by the Red Faction - possibly masterminded by Samanya - against the Marauders. Alec Mason, dispatched to trail a Marauder Raider, quickly found himself in the middle a pitched battle between EDF and Marauders. The EDF sought to get its hands on the Nano Forge, a piece of old Ultor Corporation tech designed by Axel Capek. Mason slipped out with the device, delivering it to the hands of the rebellion. This was so concerning to the EDF that the Earth Defence Council decreed that Admiral Lucius Kobel would be given command of the Mars theatre once the E.D.S. Hydra arrived, usurping General Bertram Roth's position. When the EDF were finally ousted from the sector, forced to withdraw, they didn't go quietly. They retargeted the artillery in the Free Fire Zone to begin Shelling the Town of Dust. The Marauders took advantage of the artillery cover and staged an attack against the town, perhaps in vengeance for the earlier Red Faction incursion into their territory. There were high civilian casaulties, from both the barrage and the raiding parties. EDF propaganda would later claim that they evacuated all non-combatants prior, though this was not the case. The victory was costly, but the Red Faction pushed into both Oasis and the Badlands. 'Battles of Oasis & the Badlands' With Earth Defence Force retreat from Dust Sector, the Red Faction set up a bases of operations in the Badlands sector and Oasis. The Battle of Oasis and the Battle of the Badlands happened simultaneously, the insurgents spreading their forces between the two sectors. These two interlinked battles helped shape the course of the war to come. One of the defining moments that helped form public opinion in the sectors was the Oasis Workers Rally Massacre. The EDF opened fire on a peaceful protest, killing and injuring many. The Red Faction responded by neutralizing the Badlands checkpoints between Dust and Oasis and driving through a truck of medical aide to help the wounded. In Oasis, they also secured an EDF-backed facility where Alec Mason held off waves of reinforcements so that the insurgents could steal valuable intel kept there. The action with, perhaps, the most long lasting effect on the conflict was the capture and interrogation of Colonel Joseph Broga by a small group of rebels including Carmen Avila, Jon Kepler and Alec Mason. Broga was the mastermind behind and the officer in charge of the Free Fire Zone which protected the Eos Sector, the shining capital of the Earth Defence Force, and his capture gave the Red Faction detailed technical information they would need to later stage the Free Fire Zone Push and breach 'Fortress Eos.' During the last trip of his life, Broga was tortured and then killed when his hijacked Staff Car plunged into the Mohole in the Badlands. He would be replaced by Colonel Elgar Mansfield. Many other skirmishes and actions were undertaken by the active parties in the two sectors during fighting such as the EDF Raid on the Oasis Safehouse, the destruction of the Harrington Memorial Bridge along with the Badlands Outpost, the Raid on the Oasis EDF Barracks, and blowing up of the ARK Reactor. The Red Faction victory in the two sectors was finally signaled by two key events. The first was the EDF withdrawl from Oasis, marked by the Battle of Oasis Residential which drew Red Faction forces and attention towards the distant end of the sector and away from the western industrial areas where the pullout was underway. EDF tanks rolled into Oasis Residential from the north and south, supported by mechanized infantry, and clashed with militia groups spread across the settlement. Their commander, Hugo Davies, mobilized everything the Red Faction and deployed every asset available. It was the first real pitched battle that the insurgents undertook during the Second Martian Revolution and a major, if costly, success. The second event which prompted victory was the sabotage of the flight of EDF flyers based at the Badlands Outpost. Mason infiltrated the base and planted altimeter charges on the gunships, rigged to blow when they reached a certain height. This was a major dent to the Earth Defence Force's air support in the area and helped clear the skies over the Free Fire Zone in their upcoming assault. 'Free Fire Zone Push' The information garnered by the Red Faction with the Kidnapping of Joseph Broga revealed a series of blindspots in the artillery coverage in the Free Fire Artillery Range which their planners would exploit when picking their route across it. The plan called for the attacking force to breach the FFZ and knock out the power cores in the artillery base on the far side, thus disabling the guns and opening the way for the rest of Red Faction to move across it into the sector of Eos. They began the dangerous assault, but many died under the onslaught. Few made it to the artillery base, Alec Mason one of them. Nevertheless they suceeded in destroying the EDF power cores and the 'Guns of Tharsis' were dormant and the Battle for Eos would commence. According to EDF propaganda, the power cores were knocked out by retreating EDF engineers to deny their use to the Red Faction. Since the Free Fire Zone no longer served any strategic purpose, the Earth Defence Force withdrew into the Eos Sector. 'Battle for Eos' The collapse of the perimeter around Eos was an utter military disaster for the Earth Defence Force designs on Mars. Founded shortly after the First Martian Revolution, the sector was the powerbase of their entire colony - and the rebels could now operate within it with impunity. Admidst the fighting in Eos, there were several key actions which shaped the initial course of the battle for control of the sector. The EDF Economic Summit, a bid to convince their corporate backers that the occupation was safe, ended in a bloodbath when Red Faction operative Alec Mason killed all members attending. Another major incident in the ongoing battle was the Lockdown of Eos called by Bertram Roth. The EDF sought to starve the population into exposing the Red Faction operatives among them and deployed snipers onto the roofs of stores, notably in the Utopia Planitia Plaza and Nestled Hills. Ordering everyone to stay off the streets, martial law was declared and they openly fired on civilians, leaving many dead. Only a quick response from the Red Faction prevented further bloodshed. Later EDF propaganda covered up the incident, claiming that the gunmen had in fact been insurgents in stolen EDF uniforms. There were also many less notable actions during the campaign. The Red Faction launched many raids such as the Raid on the Canyon View and the Raid on the Haig Bistro, targeting sympathisers and officials of the regime they opposed. They also launched the Raid on the EDF War Memorial as well as destroying countless other EDF monuments such as the Eos Memorial Bridge. The Earth Defence Force too, launched its fair share of attacks with the Raid on Red Ravine, the Raid on Nestled Hills, the Raid on the Eastern Eos Fuel Station and the Raid on the Bridgeview Residential. The attacks on both the Red Ravine and East Eos Petrol Station appear to have been attempts to nail down the location of the northern most Red Faction safehouse. 'Red Faction-Marauder Pact' At the end of it the Red Faction emerged on top, but just as they were preparing their final massed assault to take out the EDF Central Command in the far north of Eos, the Earth Defence Force launched a targeted raid to knock out the Red Faction's main base of operations in the Badlands. Tipped off by a Faction member called Jenkins, they knew exactly when and where to strike for devastating effect. The Raid on the Badlands Safehouse commenced with a carpet bombing from EDF bombers and was soon joined by ground troops supported by flyers. Many militia members died including Commander Hugo Davies, Jon Kepler, Carmen Avila and countless others. The Red Faction were thrown into utter disarray and with the Dreadnaught, Hydra, soon to arrive, General Roth proclaimed 'total victory' over the insurgents. The Red Faction formed an uneasy alliance with the Marauders. Alec and Samanya met with the Marauder leader, Vasha, on the far side of the Irradiated Zone in the Badlands. In order to again rally the support of the colonists, the insurgents launched an attack on the Voice of Mars in Eos and hijjacked the airwaves. The Red Faction and the Marauders then launched a joint operation, finally proceeding with the Raid on EDF Central Command. They broke through its outer forcefield with an EDF Scout Car with a transponder rigged by Samanya and then penetrated the complexes defenses. Eventually the insurgents and Marauders reached the command nerve centre of the complex, Bertram Roth's war-rooms. The commander of the Mars theatre was absent. The war-rooms were destroyed. The last bastion of EDF security was breached and their forces purged from the Eos Sector, but despite this the Earth Defence Force was broken. They still remained a force to be reckoned with in the following Battle of Mount Vogel, able to field great quantities of soldiers, vehicles and armour. 'Battle of Mount Vogel' Being deprived of his opperations centre seemingly had little effect on General Roth's ability to muster his troops. Despite continued losses and retreats across Tharsis, despite the fall of 'Fortress Eos' and the eventual overrunning of his own abandoned command bunker, Roth knew it would all mean nothing with the safe arrival of the E.D.S. Hydra and the reinforcements it carried. Catching wind of the Red Faction and Marauder plan to use the Nano Forge coupled with the nanotechology of the Accelerator to launch a nanite-infused missile at the Hydra, Roth quickly deployed vast amounts troops to overrun the control tower held by the Marauders and secure Mount Vogel. The Earth Defence Force were only held at bay at the base of the mountain with the aide of the reactivated EDF artillery in the Free Fire Zone, now in the service of the Red Faction. Elsewhere the EDF were successful, capturing the control tower from the Marauders and killing their matriarch, Vasha. Though Samanya manged to reroute launch controls to the base of the mountain, a successful launch was still inhibited by the accelerator's seal. Alec Mason had to fight his way through the Roth's defenses using a modified EDF Artillery Tank and made his way to the peak of the mountain. After killing the EDF General, he destroyed the seal blocking the Accelerator. Upon entering Mars orbit, Hydra was obliterated by the nano-infused missile they launched. 'Aftermath' The destruction of the Hydra marked then end of the EDF regime. The colonists celebrated the victory, which against all odds, the Red Faction had delivered. After the celebration died down, the Red Faction continued to hunt down the surviving EDF remnants, though some escaped notice, lying low in places like the Madler Crater, masked by the anomolies which form around the outer limits of the Terraformer's range. It was places like this that the White Faction would emerge from 25 years later in 2150 CE to make their power bid. The EDF remnant quickly fell upon hard times in their isolated strongholds, however, at least one compound suffered a devastating influenza outbreak within a year of the 2125 Revolution. The children were decimated, leaving the White Faction reeling in population collapse. The White Faction, forced to abduct children in order to maintain their numbers, nonetheless kept a low profile. Meanwhile, the Red Faction and Marauder states came into existance, having inherited Mars, with former insurgency was based out of the Eos Sector. After their leader Vasha died in the last battle of the war, a new Marauder matriarch succeeded her called Omaya. After wiping the last visible EDF remnants, the states relaxed firm in the belief their foe was forever vanquished from Martian soil. The pact between the colonists and the Marauders wouldn't last, White Faction's covert activities creating a wedge between the two powers by launching an attack against the Mason household. Samanya Mason was killed while her daughter Lyra was abducted to swell White Faction ranks, though presumed dead. Propaganda Category:Conflicts Category:Battles/Engagements Category:Wars involving the Red Faction Category:Wars involving the EDF Category:Wars involving the Marauders